Fryeburg police were on high alert Monday after five break-ins in the past week.Police are asking people in the area to be vigilant after burglars targeted three different homes and an animal shelter.The first burglary was reported last Sunday at the Harvest Hills Animal Shelter on Route 302. Workers discovered the electrical panel had been ripped from the side of the building, phones lines were cut and the burglars made off with keys to a new van.“I don’t know about other people, but where I live it’s not uncommon to just leave the house, leave your door unlocked, because you know everybody you live near, and it’s kind of unsettling to feel like you can’t do that and you have to be on guard, it’s just ridiculous,” said Megan Thorne of the Harvest Hills Animal Shelter.The night before Halloween, a house on Elkins Brook Road was burglarized twice while an elderly couple was sound asleep. The power was cut off and a purse, cellphone and the family car were stolen.On Saturday, a house on Sanborn Road was burglarized while the residents were asleep. Someone forced his or her way in through a basement window.“That’s scary. Nobody wants to wake up in the middle of the night and hear noises in your house and find a person there. That’s not a good thing,” said Lou Gagnon of Fryeburg.A third house, on Baker Circle, was burglarized Sunday while the homeowners were not there.Fryeburg Police Chief Philip Weymouth said people are buying security systems, and some others are buying guns. He said he worries about what might happen.“I don’t want to see people start shooting everybody around here,” Weymouth said. “I mean, we had foot patrols down there the other night throughout the night until 6 in the morning. It may be an officer walking around there. You’re better off to take a look and then call us. Let us deal with it. That’s the best way to do it.”Weymouth said he is pretty sure the burglaries are all connected and there might be two people committing the crimes.

FRYEBURG, Maine —

Fryeburg police were on high alert Monday after five break-ins in the past week.

Police are asking people in the area to be vigilant after burglars targeted three different homes and an animal shelter.

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The first burglary was reported last Sunday at the Harvest Hills Animal Shelter on Route 302. Workers discovered the electrical panel had been ripped from the side of the building, phones lines were cut and the burglars made off with keys to a new van.

“I don’t know about other people, but where I live it’s not uncommon to just leave the house, leave your door unlocked, because you know everybody you live near, and it’s kind of unsettling to feel like you can’t do that and you have to be on guard, it’s just ridiculous,” said Megan Thorne of the Harvest Hills Animal Shelter.

The night before Halloween, a house on Elkins Brook Road was burglarized twice while an elderly couple was sound asleep. The power was cut off and a purse, cellphone and the family car were stolen.

On Saturday, a house on Sanborn Road was burglarized while the residents were asleep. Someone forced his or her way in through a basement window.

“That’s scary. Nobody wants to wake up in the middle of the night and hear noises in your house and find a person there. That’s not a good thing,” said Lou Gagnon of Fryeburg.

A third house, on Baker Circle, was burglarized Sunday while the homeowners were not there.

Fryeburg Police Chief Philip Weymouth said people are buying security systems, and some others are buying guns. He said he worries about what might happen.

“I don’t want to see people start shooting everybody around here,” Weymouth said. “I mean, we had foot patrols down there the other night throughout the night until 6 in the morning. It may be an officer walking around there. You’re better off to take a look and then call us. Let us deal with it. That’s the best way to do it.”

Weymouth said he is pretty sure the burglaries are all connected and there might be two people committing the crimes.